How to... Pack

How to... Pack

Friday 11 January 2002 21.04 EST
First published on Friday 11 January 2002 21.04 EST

If you want to get to know someone really quickly, ask them to send you the suitcase they've just packed for their holiday. Open it, and you'll get a precise snapshot of their personality. At one end of the spectrum, you'll find neatly folded piles of expensive clothes in a lasagne of tissue paper, all packed into a rigid black suitcase; at the other, an explosion of assorted crumpled grunge packed under the pressure of three housemates sitting on it.

Expert packers make sure that everything is beautifully folded before stacking it neatly into the case. For people who have never folded anything in their lives, this is a bit of a non-starter. For these people, the hold-all has been invented, which is a way of taking your laundry basket on holiday.

A good way of packing is to start with yourself naked and pretend that you're getting dressed. In this way, you will systematically remember every article of clothing. Just remember not to rush out and get in your taxi butt-naked.

When couples pack for a holiday, the man often enters the bedroom to find his partner's case beautifully and neatly packed. He wonders how she managed it, until he opens his own case and finds it 90% packed with the rest of her gear. One reason for this is that even if women are going on a potholing expedition, they pack as if there might be a cocktail party involved somewhere.

Male packing is straightforward. For a two-week holiday, he needs six T-shirts, two pairs of pants (one for best) and a Swiss Army knife to do manly things such as rewiring the apartment, skinning rabbits and calming restless natives. Women, however, pack on the basis that, unless it's physically bigger than the suitcase, it goes in. When they've finished packing, the house looks as if they've moved out.

It's almost impossible to pack without forgetting something. Experienced travellers know that the things most often forgotten are camera, torch, adaptor, pills, glasses and teabags. Experienced travellers remember all these things, but sometimes get a little cocky and forget something vital such as their trousers.